Tag Archives: healthy baby

How can something this adorable produce the stinkiest gas in the world?

The pediatrician informed us that one of the reasons Paolo is such a happy baby is that he doesn’t suffer from gas pain. And how did we know this? He is excellent at passing gas. A pro. (Before I had a baby, I would have thought this was too much information, but not now.) Having been exclusively breastfeed until recently, Paolo was able to free his stomach of any excess air without making a stink (literally), only some noise. Which was funny.

Oh my how things have changed. Since we introduced rice cereal,

Paolo still frees this tummy of excess air, except that now he makes a stink. An adult, make-your-eyes-water, non-baby-like stink. It is unbelievable. I chose all natural, whole grain, organic rice cereal as his first meal. And look where that got us.

So we picked up some regular cereal two days ago,

in the hopes that this would produce less potent gas. We’re still waiting to find out. All I know is, traveling with a baby that makes this caliber of stink can really get you some funny looks on an airplane. I’ve been told to just wait until he really starts eating “grown-up” food. Good gracious. We’ll need gas masks to survive.

Paolo is turning five months next week; I had planned to exclusively breastfeed him until he was six months old. That, however, has not worked out. As of late, Paolo’s eating schedule has been quite irregular. At times, he is hungry all day and other times, would barely eat during the day. The one constant is that since I have gone back to work full time, he wakes up to eat 3-4 times every night. (I don’t mind waking up, but once or twice a night would be ideal.) I finally called the pediatrician last week, and she told me that this usually means that the baby is ready to try his first solid food. I not was exactly ecstatic to hear this, so I waited a few days before breaking out the rice cereal. I was secretly very happy that this was his first reaction to the cereal:

So, given this reaction (which is normal, I know) and the fact that I’m not sure he even swallowed anything, I didn’t give him more cereal for a few days. Then, he had a check-up with the pediatrician on Friday, she let us know that it was definitely time to give him solids on a regular basis. His teeth are ready to come out, he’s near sitting up by himself, and he’s getting bored with just milk. Basically, he’s ready for solids. Sniff, sniff. I didn’t realize how quickly this day would come. I know that he will continue to nurse and will receive his nutrients from me, but I just didn’t expect to introduce solids already. Sniff, sniff.

This morning we gave him another serving of rice cereal. At first, he wasn’t enjoying it one little bit. (And I was beaming on the inside.) Then, he started to like it. A lot. It took some work to get the food in, but he was really excited and loving it. Paolo started to lean into the spoon and going for it. He finished the entire serving and was as happy as could be. Then, he had a nice long nurse (which made me happy) and then a nice long nap (which made both Giuseppe and I happy).

I had planned to give him another serving this evening. His evening meal was planned for 7pm, but he started fussing at 6:30, so I nursed him a bit and then he fell right asleep. For the night. I guess he’ll get more in the morning, but I wanted him to have some cereal this evening to see if he would wake up less to eat. It’s crazy how he has started waking up so much at night, and I hope this helps to get his daytime eating schedule back on track.

And now that he is started on solids, I have my eye on this nifty baby kitchen appliance:

The Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker from Williams Sonoma. A coworker raves about it, and it looks awesome. It’s “a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster in one compact appliance.” I love it. I am, I think, when he is ready, going to introduce first sweet potatoes, then avocado, then bananas. (Very slowly and one at a time, of course.) Any suggestions?

Cookies are for desert, right? A yummy little treat to signal the end of an afternoon or evening meal. Not in our house. Italians are very particular about their palate for breakfast, and eat exclusively sweet foods in the morning. Which usually means a cafe latte or hot chocolate with some sort of pastry. Every. Day.

Giuseppe is very picky about what he will eat for breakfast. For him there are two food groups in the morning: cookies and cake. He loathes anything slightly savory in the morning and routinely complains about how disgusting my breakfast choices are. Since when are eggs and toast yucky in the morning?

So, yes, when we grocery shop, we have to visit the desert aisle for prepackaged cookies and sweet breads. (It would be impossible to keep homemade cookies and cakes in the kitchen with the rate that Giuseppe consumes them.) This morning he ate about six chocolate Florentine cookies with his cafe latte.

I, on the other hand, think that a good breakfast should be nutritious, with a mix of carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. (Eggs, fruit, whole grains, etc.). Giuseppe refuses to cooperate. I think this could potentially become a problem as our little guy grows up. It will be a losing battle for me, on team nutrition. What child will take his mother seriously about the importance of a healthy breakfast when his father is wolfing down chocolate chip cookies every morning?